In the Crofton special tax district, a navy blue police car is a familiar fixture. It patrols the area nearly around the clock, and the officer behind the wheel is known to residents.
This is community policing. And Crofton has practiced it for almost three decades, long before the term became popular with politicians and law enforcement authorities.
As other jurisdictions adopt the grass-roots strategy, Crofton is showing how effective the approach can be. The community of 10,000 has had but one homicide in the district's 25-year history, and the crime rate remains low.
Most of all, residents say they feel safer.
"Where else can you go where you'll see men and women jogging and walking their dogs at all hours of the night?" said Town Manager Barbara K. Swann at a recent civic association board meeting. "The bad guys know -- in Crofton [officers] can circle that parkway in five minutes."
Others say the five-officer police force is the reason they moved into the special tax district -- property bounded by Routes 3, 424 and 450.
"When something goes wrong, you know [the officers] care because you know them," said Diane Wolf, who moved into Crofton Woods three years ago.
For example, in the last two weeks, a bandit has broken into three homes in Ms. Wolf's neighborhood, each time entering through an open garage.
Crofton officers knocked on every home with an open garage to warn residents, and by the weekend, all the doors were closed.
To prevent any more incidents, Chief Deborah Bogush and Sgt. John Wortman will give a presentation tonight at Crofton Woods Elementary School on home security.
Crofton's community policing tradition began even before the tax district was created in 1969. When it still was a gated community, security guards patrolled in golf carts, carrying the spare keys to each home.
Today the Crofton department is certified, with all officers trained at the county police academy. This summer, the department will add a sixth officer using money from the 1994 Crime Bill.
The only difference between the Crofton and county police is the color of their uniforms and cars.
The Crofton police wear navy blue shirts and pants; county police have white shirts and gray pants. Crofton cars are navy blue, county cars are white.
The department, consisting of an office and squad room, is in the basement of town hall.
"It's kind of an Andy and Mayberry atmosphere," quipped Chief Bogush, who has headed the department since 1989.
In addition to its own department, Crofton also is covered by the county police. Crofton uses the county's dispatch system to respond to emergency calls and one county officer is assigned to the Crofton area, said Officer Randy Bell, spokesman for the county police.
Woodland Beach and Gibson Island are the only other places in the county to have their own police; each has hired one officer.
For Crofton officers, working in a small, community-based department allows them do a little bit of everything: patrol the neighborhoods, respond to a call, investigate a case.
"It's better this way," said Officer Art Saclolo.
"You can do more for the area you're working for. You get to know everyone -- who's doing the bad things, who's doing the good things."